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Discover how to make fish balls and a flavorful fish ball soup. This step-by-step recipe with pictures shows you how to make bouncy, delicious fish balls at home. Enjoy an easy recipe for making perfect fish balls and a comforting soup.
I have wanted to create this post “How to make fish balls from scratch” for the longest time…but it has taken me so long to do it. The reason is simple: the fish.
Living in Southern California, right off the Pacific coast, you would think that fresh fish is plentiful and bountiful and that I should be able to get any fish I like.
Wrong! The fish we get here in the market are not great. In fact, they are really bad considering how close we are to the ocean.
90% of the fish we get here are frozen, and most of them do not look fresh. Let’s just put it this way, sometimes I wonder why people don’t get sick eating the fish here.
They are really quite bad, red eyes, oozing blood, and just plain fishy. Once in a while you get some decent fish and that’s when I would buy them to cook.
Otherwise, I usually eat steamed fish at Chinese restaurants, those alive ones and swimming in the tank.
Granted, I can get pretty decent salmon and deep-sea fish here but they are not what I normally like to eat. Other than that, I eat fish at Japanese restaurant.
Anyway, simply put, to make fish balls from scratch, you need fresh fish so your fish balls won’t be fishy, and you need certain kind of fish to give you the best and bouncy texture.
So finally, I chanced upon a big mackerel (马鲛鱼) that is great for fish balls so in this post, I will teach you the step-by-step how to make fish balls.
I will warn you that it’s going to take some time but when you bite into a bouncy fish ball, you will realize that it’s worth the effort. I have included step-by-step pictures in the gallery for your reference.
I will be honest I am not the best person to ask about the fish species, so check with your local fish monger if they can recommend a good fish for fish balls.
You can use mackerel (马鲛鱼), 西刀鱼 (not sure about its English name), eel (鳗鱼), etc., so please check with your fish vendors.
Please take note that the kinds of fish best for fish balls are not commonly found in western countries but you never know…so good luck!
You can also use the fish paste to make Thai fish cakes.
Looking for other recipes to use these delicious homemade fish balls? Check out my Chinese hot pot recipe!
Ingredients
Ingredients For Fish Balls
- Whole mackerel
- Ground white pepper
- Salt
Ingredients For Fish Ball Soup
- Fish bone
- Chicken broth
- Chinese seaweed
- Soy sauce
- Water
- Sesame oil
- Salt
- White pepper
Toppings For Fish Ball Soup:
- Scallion
- Garlic oil
- Lettuce
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Fish Balls
Step 1: Clean the fish and rinse with cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Filet the fish along the bones from the tail up towards the head using a very sharp knife. Repeat on the other side.
Step 2: Get a bowl to put the fish meat. Using a spoon, scrape the fish meat off the skin of the fish filet, from the tail upwards. Scrape until all meat is off the skin. Discard the skin. Use the spoon to scrape off the fish meat off the fish bone, too.
Step 3: Place all the fish meat on a chopping board, using a Chinese cleaver (preferably) to chop the fish meat, for about 10 minutes.
Step 4: The fish will become slightly sticky as you chop. Add the salt and pepper and continue chopping for another 10 minutes, the fish meat will become a fish paste.
Step 5: Wet your hands with some water and take a tablespoon of the fish paste onto your palm and shape them into fish balls.
How To Make Fish Ball Soup
Step 1: Get a 5-quart soup pot, put in the chicken broth, water, and fish bones. Bring to boil over high heat, and then let it boil on low to medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the soup is flavorful.
Step 2: Remove the fish bones, turn to high heat and drop the fish balls into the soup.
Step 3: Add the Chinese seaweed, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste. When the fish balls float to the top, turn off the heat.
Step 4: Transfer the fish balls soup into serving bowls, add the Toppings and serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 199 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Other Recipes You Might Like
How to Make Fish Balls
Ingredients
- 1 whole mackerel with bones and head, about 2 1/2 lbs. (1.2 kg)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
Fish Ball Soup:
- fish bones, discard the fish head, chopped into 3 pieces
- 1 can chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- 1 oz (30g) Chinese seaweed, 紫菜
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- white pepper and salt to taste
Fish Ball Soup Topping:
- garlic oil
- some shredded lettuce leaves
- 1 stalk scallion, cut into rings
Instructions
Fish Ball:
- Clean the fish and rinse with cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Filet the fish along the bones from the tail up towards the head using a very sharp knife. Repeat on the other side.
- Get a bowl to put the fish meat. Using a spoon, scrape the fish meat off the skin of the fish filet, from the tail upwards. Scrape until all meat is off the skin. Discard the skin. Use the spoon to scrape off the fish meat off the fish bone, too.
- Place all the fish meat on a chopping board, using a Chinese cleaver (preferably) to chop the fish meat, for about 10 minutes.
- The fish will become slightly sticky as you chop. Add the salt and pepper and continue chopping for another 10 minutes, the fish meat will become a fish paste.
- Wet your hands with some water and take a tablespoon of the fish paste onto your palm and shape them into fish balls.
Fish Ball Soup:
- Get a 5-quart soup pot, put in the chicken broth, water, and fish bones. Bring to boil over high heat, and then let it boil on low to medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the soup is flavorful.
- Remove the fish bones, turn to high heat and drop the fish balls into the Soup.
- Add the Chinese seaweed, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste. When the fish balls float to the top, turn off the heat.
- Transfer the fish balls soup into serving bowls, add the Toppings and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- You can make the garlic oil by stir-frying some minced garlic with heated oil.
- If you like, serve it with red chilies in soy sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Mackerel is not a correct fish to do fishball. Your fishball look like a round keropok lekor.
Mackerel fish is the RIGHT fish to make fish balls, the problem is I couldn’t get fresh mackerel in the US, they are all frozen.
So no flour is needed for the fish ball, I wish to receive more recipes in my inbox, thank you?
Very good receipe
I have been making Fish Balls for years! My recipe is very simple and may not be the tradition Asian Fish Balls.. I use my Food Processor and pulse a small onion, egg, lime or lemon with raw fish.. I shape this into small balls. I like to dip them into an egg wash, and cornflakes.. the sweetness of cornflakes works well. they can be fried in butter or baked.. serve with an Asian sweet sauce. For St Paddy’s, I pulsed cilantro with the mixture! Voila, green fish balls! LOL
Interesting recipe, will have to try!
Yes I will try.
Can i add some onions and garlic if i will do the fishball? By the way im using Tenggeri
Not onions but garlic is ok.
In hong kong, they use Dace (chinese mud carp). You can fish for Dace in UK rivers but i’ve never seen it on the fishmonger counter.
I’ve used mackerel – it was a strong taste but springy if you slam it on the bench a few 10s of times.
I wish it was easier to find the right fish.
I use a yellowtail snapper. It’s naturally bouncy.
Would like to see more Asian recipes
Hi.
TQ for the recipe. I tried with King Fish (ikan tenggiri). Much easier as less bones.
Most of my friends use food processor for the mixing of the fish into paste.. And it produced more bouncy fish ball..not to mentioned much less time to process..
For storing, I fried the fish balls and after they cool down, I kept them freeze. These can last months.
Love your site. Thanks again.